The scientific ocean drilling is featured at new exhibition hall of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

[Washington DC, October 24, 2008]

The Sant Ocean Hall, in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History located in Washington DC, USA, has been in development for several years and opened on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008, includes a significant exhibit about scientific ocean drilling. The brand new permanent exhibition features scientific ocean drilling with wall-size panels, interactive video presentations, and a scale model of the state-of-the-art scientific drilling ship Chikyu, contributed by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) and the Japan Agency for Marine Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC).

Over 15,000 visitor days are spent in the Museum with collections more than 126 million natural science specimens and cultural artifacts. Dr. Kiyoshi Suyehiro, who is the Executive Director of JAMSTEC where is one of the leading organizations of international scientific ocean drilling, and the Initiative Collaborators of the exhibition hall as well as IODP, said "I come from a country bordered by nothing but oceans. We are thus constantly reminded of how important the oceans are to us. We are extremely happy and grateful to the Smithsonian museum for giving us this opportunity to contribute the exhibitions to the Sant Ocean Hall. The real ship Chikyu is being contributed to IODP international scientific community to better understand how Earth System operates and help humankind make wise decisions for our future. I wish the scientific ocean drilling be successful and contribute to the well being of the humankind and the Ocean Hall help foster next generation of ocean scientists." For more information about the Sant Ocean Hall, go to www.mnh.si.edu.

The Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum of Natural History
Located at 10th St. & Constitution Ave. NW, in Washington, D.C. 20560http://www.mnh.si.edu/